NCAA College Football – Week Ten Recap

It was a wild week in college football with a defensive showdown between #1 LSU and #2 Alabama, #3 Oklahoma State surviving an offensive shootout, and eight Top 25 teams going down. Here are all the highlights from this week in the AP Top 25.

#1 Louisiana State 9, #2 Alabama 6 (OT)

While it may not have had the fireworks of 1971 Nebraska/Oklahoma or other previous #1 vs. #2 matchups, this one was certainly not lacking for drama, becoming the first game between the top two teams to ever go to overtime. Both defenses were as dominant as they’ve been all season, with the two teams combining for just 534 yards. Alabama had their chances to pull out the win, but special teams miscues left the winning points on the field. Crimson Tide kickers missed three field goals (including one in overtime) and had another blocked. LSU capitalized on the final miss by putting together a five-play, 17-yard drive that culminated in the game-winning 25-yard field goal. This was the first time since 2000 Alabama gave up nine or fewer points and still lost.

#3 Oklahoma State 52, #17 Kansas State 45

If you didn’t find the defensive showdown in Tuscaloosa exciting enough, this was the game for you. OSU quarterback Brandon Weeden threw for a school-record 502 yards and four touchdowns as the third-ranked Cowboys kept their national championship hopes alive, outscoring the Wildcats down the stretch and holding them out of the end zone on three straight plays inside the OSU five-yard line in the waning seconds. Defense was not really a factor in the game, as the two teams combined for 97 points and almost 1,100 yards of offense. Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein almost led the Wildcats to the upset, rushing for 144 yards and three touchdowns while throwing for 131 and another touchdown. Oklahoma State’s 9-0 start ties the best start in school history (set in 1945).

#4 Stanford 38, Oregon State 13

Andrew Luck threw three touchdown passes and the Cardinal overcame a slow start to extend their nation’s-best winning streak to 17 games and set up a key showdown next week with #6 Oregon. The Beavers took a 17-13 lead early in the second half before Stanford scored 21 unanswered points in a nine-minute span of the third and fourth quarters to put the game away. Stanford racked up 300 rushing yards while holding Oregon State to just 33. The Cardinal offense more than doubled their Beaver counterparts in time of possession and first downs. Andrew Luck is the first Pac-12 quarterback since 2005 to throw multiple touchdown passes in nine straight games.

#5 Boise State 48, UNLV 21

The Broncos got off to a slow start, going three-and-out on three of their first four possessions, but quickly righted the ship to score touchdowns on six of their eight remaining drives in the game. Quarterback Kellen Moore threw for just 219 yards, but made them count with five passing touchdowns. Boise running back D.J. Harper rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown. With the win (his 46th as a starter), Moore passed former Texas quarterback Colt McCoy as the winningest quarterback in FBS history.

#6 Oregon 34, Washington 17

Oregon running back LaMichael James showed re-established good health after suffering a dislocated elbow earlier in the season, rushing for 156 yards and a touchdown. The Ducks defense had been giving up almost 400 yards per game, but showed up big this weekend, holding the Huskies to just 278 yards, forcing three turnovers, sacking UW quarterback Keith Price six times and holding running back Chris Polk, the Pac-12’s leading rusher who scored five touchdowns last week, to just 80 yards and no scores.

#7 Oklahoma 41, Texas A&M 25

Oklahoma scored 28 unanswered points in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. But it was a costly victory for the Sooners as All-American wide receiver Ryan Broyles, the NCAA’s all-time leader in career receptions, was lost for the season with a torn ACL. Oklahoma’s leading rusher, running back Dominique Whaley, broke his leg in last week’s game against Kansas State and will also be out for the rest of the season. Texas A&M actually outgained the Sooners 527-404, but turned the ball over four times, leading to 17 Oklahoma points.

#8 Arkansas 44, #10 South Carolina 28

Arkansas outgained the Gamecocks 435-207 and outscored them 20-7 over the game’s final 22 minutes to pull away. Without injured star running back Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina’s running game was held to just 79 rushing yards. Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson torched the USC defense for 299 passing yards and two touchdowns in the win, but was finally picked off after a school-record 184 pass attempts without an interception. On the other side, in his last three games combined, South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw has thrown for just 370 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions.

Northwestern 28, #9 Nebraska 25

After quarterback Dan Persa left with a shoulder injury, Northwestern’s backup quarterback Kain Colter threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Wildcats upset the Cornhuskers in Lincoln. Nebraska’s defense was outstanding in last week’s 24-3 win over Michigan State, but had no answer this week for the Wildcats’ running game, which gashed huge holes all day and rolled up 207 rushing yards. The Northwestern run defense, which came into the game ranked 95th in the nation, was equally impressive, holding Nebraska’s strong running game (6th in the nation) to just 122 yards on the ground. Cornhusker quarterback Taylor Martinez had his best passing day of the season in the loss, throwing for 289 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Nebraska, which has not gone undefeated at home since 2001, now faces two tough road tests with games at Penn State and Michigan.

#11 Clemson BYE

The Tigers return to action next week against Wake Forest.

#12 Virginia Tech BYE

The Hokies will be back on the field Thursday night at Georgia Tech.

Iowa 24, #13 Michigan 16

The Wolverines had put up more than 500 yards in three of its last four games, but were held to just 323 yards by an Iowa defense that put the clamps on Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson. Iowa running back Marcus Coker carried the Hawkeyes on his back, carrying the ball 29 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Michigan actually had a chance late in the game with first and goal from the three-yard line and 16 seconds left, but Robinson threw four incomplete passes and Iowa secured its first-ever three-game winning streak over the Wolverines.

#14 Houston 56, Alabama-Birmingham 13

Houston quarterback Case Keenum continues to put up huge numbers, throwing for 407 yards and two touchdowns, moving him past former Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang as the NCAA’s all-time leader in passing yardage. He also added two rushing touchdowns. UAB managed just 269 yards of total offense, compared with 654 for the Cougars. This was Keenum’s 35th career 300+ yard game, breaking a record set by former BYU signal caller Ty Detmer.

#15 Michigan State 31, Minnesota 24

Trying to recover from last week’s loss at Nebraska, Michigan State trailed the Gophers by three going into the fourth quarter before putting up ten unanswered points to close out the game. Spartans quarterback Kirk Cousins recovered from his terrible outing last week to throw for 296 yards and two touchdowns in the win. MSU running back Le’Veon Bell gave the Spartans struggling run game a boost with 96 yards and two touchdowns. Michigan State has now won 13 consecutive home games.

#16 Penn State BYE

The Nittany Lions will return to action Saturday with a key Big Ten matchup against Nebraska.

#18 Georgia 63, New Mexico State 16

Georgia put up 42 points, including five touchdown passes from quarterback Aaron Murray, in the second quarter as the Bulldogs had no problems in their rare late-season nonconference game against New Mexico State. Despite playing without their top three rushers (two suspended, one injured), the Bulldogs still managed to roll up 258 rushing yards. Freshman Brandon Harton, who had just 11 carries for 33 yards on the season, rushed 15 times for 98 yards and a touchdown in his first career start. NMSU came into the game ranked 108th in the nation in total defense and did nothing to change that trend, giving up 627 yards to Georgia.

#19 Wisconsin 62, Purdue 17

Wisconsin snapped its two-game losing streak in a big way, rolling up 605 yards and scoring in the final 30 minutes of the game. Running back Montee Ball rushed for 223 yards (159 in the first half) and three touchdowns as the Badgers racked up 364 yards on the ground. Purdue has now lost 14 straight road games against ranked teams.

UCLA 29, #20 Arizona State 28

Arizona State missed a 47-yard field goal as time expired to secure UCLA’s sixth win in seven home games against the Sun Devils. The lead changed hands twice in the final eight minutes, with UCLA running back’s Derrick Coleman’s 1-yard touchdown run with 49 seconds left in the game proving to be the game-winner. Coleman finished with 119 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the win. ASU missed three field goals in the game, including on their last two possessions in the fourth quarter.

#21 Southern Cal 42, Colorado 17

USC quarterback Matt Barkley threw for a school-record six touchdowns as the Trojans bounced back from their loss to Stanford last week. Colorado’s defense, which is riddled with injuries, had no answer for a balanced Trojans attack that put up 318 passing yards and 243 on the ground. USC receivers Robert Woods and Marqise Lee combined for 18 receptions, 254 yards and four touchdowns.

#22 Georgia Tech BYE

#23 Cincinnati 26, Pittsburgh 23

Cincinnati now controls its own destiny in the Big East race after coming back to knock off Pitt. The Panthers actually led by 10 late in the third quarter before the Bearcats took advantage of Pitt turnovers on three consecutive possessions and turned them into 13 points in just over four minutes of play to take a lead they would not give back. Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros threw two interceptions, but redeemed himself with two rushing touchdowns.

Louisville 38, #24 West Virginia 35

After dropping three in a row to start October, the Cardinals have now won three in a row and upset West Virginia Saturday in Morgantown to end a four-game losing streak to the Mountaineers. Despite being outgained 533-351, the Cardinals made their possessions count, scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions to take an early lead and then putting together a 13-play drive that took 7:11 off the clock late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith threw for 410 yards and three touchdowns in the loss, his third 400+ yard game of the season.